Guan Yin Citta & Master Lu

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Master Jun Hong Lu’s
World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting (Q&A Session)
Singapore
April 22, 2016

*USING VIRTUES TO ENHANCE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COUPLES*

Question: Can we use virtues accumulated from the recitations of the Great Compassion Mantra and Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance, the performance of life liberation, being volunteers etc. to pray for good karmic relationships between couples.

Answer: Yes, you may. After you have performed virtuous deeds, you may say your prayer to Bodhisattva, “May the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva have mercy on me. Today I would like to use the virtues accrued from life liberation to preserve our favourable virtues as husband and wife. I hope that both of us will have more good karma as we spend our lives together”.

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*‘THE NINE REFRAINMENTS IN LIFE’ WHEN DEALING WITH PEOPLE, MATTERS AND IN TAKING CARE OF OUR HEALTH*

9. Refrain from leading a life of extreme leisure and comfort

Ninth, this last one is refrain from leading a life of extreme leisure and comfort. Those who always stay at home, not wanting to venture beyond the comfort of their home and do not have anything to do in life will lose a sense of responsibility in life and get downhearted.

If you stay at home everyday, thinking, “I don’t want to go out today, not tomorrow too. In fact, I don’t feel like going out at all. It feels good to be staying at home,” let me tell you, over time, you will become more and more lazy and you will not get enough social interaction. You may perceive yourself as someone whose heart is pure and free from desires but, in actual sense, as time goes by, it will alter your way of thinking. You may give it a try to see if this is true.

In the past, a clinical experiment was carried out by confining a normal-speaking person in a room, all by himself, without any music, telephone, whatsoever. This person went on with his life in the room and a month later, he lost his ability to communicate with others. This is because language is the tool for communication. You are able to speak because you are spoken to, am I right? Think about those who are deaf-mute. Why is it that people who are hard of hearing are mute? When you can’t hear, you will not be able to speak. If you can’t hear anything at all, how is it that you are able to speak to someone? What can you talk about? This is why if a person is deaf, chances are he is a mute.

It is the same for us humans, we must be more sociable with others, cast the seeds of positive karmic affinity far and wide, stop and smell the roses. In the context of a Buddhist practitioner, we must participate in dharma propagation activities, establish positive karmic affinity with all, help sentient beings, make great vows and perform life liberation. There is so much joy when everyone comes together. Look at how joyous you all are. You have never thought that you could have the opportunity to travel around the world, have you?

In this modern era of living, we should make sure our body gets the right amount of nutrition. Many people suffer from malnutrition and are undernourished, while some people overindulge and are over-nourished. Regardless of what you do, be it physical exercises, etc, you must know do it in moderation. If you overdo it, it will never be good because this is when negative energy is produced, which could inflict harm on you. When it comes to worldly matters, you must know how to manage your mindset, that is, in the midst of your happiness, anger, sorrow or joy, you must hold the Buddha in your heart. This sums up the “Nine Refrainments of Life” that I just walked you through.

Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s World Buddhist Fellowship Meeting, Paris, France, 5 September 2019

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🪷 *CALMNESS GIVES RISE TO WISDOM* 🪷

Master Jun Hong Lu: Calmness gives rise to wisdom. Only in calmness will you realise the movement of your mind and what is in your thoughts which sometimes go out of control. *Only when you are calm, can your thoughts be in control.*

Sometimes when you manage to calm down, you will wonder, “Why did I think this way? Why do I have such ridiculous thoughts? How can I think so badly of him?” This is when you will feel so ashamed of yourself as you have gained wisdom.

Hence, *the validation of the dharma requires the quietness and the stillness of your heart. Only when a person is in quietude, can he feel the presence of the Buddha in his heart.*

_Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Episode 100, 4 July 2020_

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*DO NOT GET CARRIED AWAY BY COMPLIMENTS*

Master Jun Hong Lu: When someone scolds or slanders you, you may be able to practise tolerance, right? The hardest thing to do is not to get carried away by praises that others shower on you. When you are being complimented, you must remain unmoved.

You have to understand that everything in this world is illusory and unreal. Be it slander or praise, take it as fictitious and you will not give rise to non-equanimity.

The problem is that when people are being praised, they will go into a state of immeasurable self-satisfaction. Take me as an example, so many people are praising me because of my dharma propagation efforts. Had it not been for this quest of mine, I would have been just an insignificant radio station master; I am nobody. Therefore, one should always be in touch with one’s Buddha nature. Do not indulge in self-satisfaction or feel that we are superior when others praise us.

What is there to be proud of? You are just a human, right? You are still doing so many unwholesome deeds every single day; your body stinks, so is your mind. Do you still believe that you are superior? Hence, even when we are being praised, we should restrain ourselves. Take it as a reprimand instead and think, “I have not done good enough and I have to put in even more effort. I am not worthy of their praises”.

Just like when people comment, “Oh, you look like Bodhisattva”, does that mean you are one? You are nothing if not for the light of Buddha that is shining on you!

A person who propagates Buddhism should never be arrogant or self-righteous. You should always think lowly of yourself and that you are of little importance. Only then will you stay grounded and not give rise to non-equanimity. What is there to be proud of? So what if you were the greatest person in the world? So what if you were Napoleon or Julius Caesar?

Source: Wenda20150109 01:17:07, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program

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*MEDITATIVE CONCENTRATION 禅*

Master Jun Hong Lu: *Meditative Concentration is about being simple. The simpler you are, the better your power of concentration will be.*

The Chinese word “Zen (禅)” has the character of a “person” standing beside the character “simple” - which means the power of concentration is achieved when a person focuses on keeping things simple in life.    
 
_Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, Paris, France, 6 September 2019_

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Master Jun Hong Lu, Words of Wisdom Vol. 5

Practising Buddhism is a tough climb, but joy awaits at the summit.
As there are many difficulties on the way, perseverance is a must.

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*OVERCOME GREED THROUGH THE GIVING OF DHARMA*

Master Jun Hong Lu: Let me tell you what it means to make offerings of the Dharma. It is to be genuinely kind to others and to give others wholeheartedly. By virtue of such offerings, you will not hanker for worldly blessings, not even wisdom.

When you desire nothing, do you think these blessings will still come by? All of you should know the answer.

So the moral of the story is, as long as you are not greedy for anything, you will be blessed with boundless merits and blessings, which includes wisdom.

For every offering that you make, if you put your heart and soul into it, you will definitely attain Buddhahood. The meritorious blessing is great beyond words.

Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Buddhism In Plain Terms, Episode 47, 29 May 2020